What's my offer?
03-31-2022, 10:09 AM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
What's my offer?
Hi all,
First post on this forum, and it's an oddball. I may have an opportunity to buy a 964 C4. It's an odd situation where I have two grainy pictures of a black car covered with dust in a cluttered but dry garage. Paint looks faded, rear bumper has scuffs and cracks, trail lights are cracked, plenty of dings and minor dents, no idea what the miles are, rust around windshield, no idea what the VIN is, no idea what the miles are, no idea what year the car is, no idea if it runs. Tires hold air and registration is current. No idea if there is a title. Petty sure it's a 964 based on one side view shot that I think shows a ring around the headlight (tough angle) that would differentiate it from a 993.
The car looks like it was a daily driver that was driven hard and put away wet; used until the owner lost interest or something happened to the car to render it inoperable.
So assume beater car, trashed interior, rust, potential non-runner, high miles.
What's my offer?
TIA
First post on this forum, and it's an oddball. I may have an opportunity to buy a 964 C4. It's an odd situation where I have two grainy pictures of a black car covered with dust in a cluttered but dry garage. Paint looks faded, rear bumper has scuffs and cracks, trail lights are cracked, plenty of dings and minor dents, no idea what the miles are, rust around windshield, no idea what the VIN is, no idea what the miles are, no idea what year the car is, no idea if it runs. Tires hold air and registration is current. No idea if there is a title. Petty sure it's a 964 based on one side view shot that I think shows a ring around the headlight (tough angle) that would differentiate it from a 993.
The car looks like it was a daily driver that was driven hard and put away wet; used until the owner lost interest or something happened to the car to render it inoperable.
So assume beater car, trashed interior, rust, potential non-runner, high miles.
What's my offer?
TIA
03-31-2022, 10:58 AM
#2
Yikes, with all those unknowns I would just be frank and ask the seller what is their price and go from there. You could lowball and say 40-45k b/c unknown condition. He may say "I know what I have"....but minimum engine rebuild cost is about 20-25k pre-pandemic. (Assuming it's not running)
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03-31-2022, 11:59 AM
#5
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Absolutely true that it might be a parts car. My offer should take that into account.
Yikes, with all those unknowns I would just be frank and ask the seller what is their price and go from there. You could lowball and say 40-45k b/c unknown condition. He may say "I know what I have"....but minimum engine rebuild cost is about 20-25k pre-pandemic. (Assuming it's not running)
I think walking away isn't the best option, as the car is definitely worth something. Just want to be fair to the (elderly) seller while avoiding getting handed a bag of reeking excrement.
03-31-2022, 12:11 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
A small rust bubble at the bottom corner of the windshield is common. Rust around the whole windshield could be a sign of much bigger issues. Not sure why you can’t ask more questions of the seller but if the car is a basket case, it could get expensive in a hurry.
03-31-2022, 12:22 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
that sounds like a lot of sketchy information at best. i assume a completely noncooperative owner? at least start with a title. no title, walk.
to be honest, i think it's extremely hard to put a number on this getting this minimal amount of information secondhand.
i would proceed, if at all, with the lowest of expectations and assume the absolute worst. for me, there would be too many unknowns, but i'm also not a project guy at this point either.
to be honest, i think it's extremely hard to put a number on this getting this minimal amount of information secondhand.
i would proceed, if at all, with the lowest of expectations and assume the absolute worst. for me, there would be too many unknowns, but i'm also not a project guy at this point either.
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03-31-2022, 12:36 PM
#8
Instructor
Why not drive/fly out and see the guy and car in person? Travel is cheap by comparison; this has all the hallmarks of a scam (assuming you don’t know the “elderly owner” personally).
03-31-2022, 12:59 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the comments so far.
Car is local to me, but it's a sensitive situation with an elderly owner in poor health, so I can't see it unless I am invited. It's not being marketed in any way. I know some folks who are helping the owner and his family clean out decades of stuff from the house, and they told me about the car. These relationships between the clean out team and the owner is delicate at best, and they don't want to unnecessarily stress that relationship so that I can have another old junker in my garage. It's the kind of thing where I can take a shot and make a one-time offer. If I get the opportunity, I might get a few minutes first to look at the odometer, try to spin the engine by hand, and walk around the car. They might tell me why the car is parked. I have no reason to distrust them at all.
That said, I am trying to establish a floor that I might work up from. Trying to offer on the low side of fair, so to speak. Will give more details if I get any, but for now I don't even have a picture of the nose, interior, or even a VIN.
The Singer comment seems insane. True?
Car is local to me, but it's a sensitive situation with an elderly owner in poor health, so I can't see it unless I am invited. It's not being marketed in any way. I know some folks who are helping the owner and his family clean out decades of stuff from the house, and they told me about the car. These relationships between the clean out team and the owner is delicate at best, and they don't want to unnecessarily stress that relationship so that I can have another old junker in my garage. It's the kind of thing where I can take a shot and make a one-time offer. If I get the opportunity, I might get a few minutes first to look at the odometer, try to spin the engine by hand, and walk around the car. They might tell me why the car is parked. I have no reason to distrust them at all.
That said, I am trying to establish a floor that I might work up from. Trying to offer on the low side of fair, so to speak. Will give more details if I get any, but for now I don't even have a picture of the nose, interior, or even a VIN.
The Singer comment seems insane. True?
03-31-2022, 01:29 PM
#11
There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche.
If you are looking to turn this into a real driver, you're going to spend 50k minimum (just assuming it needs serious bodywork, tons of interior work and you need to assume at least a top end since you can't get info). For me, I wouldn't start anywhere higher than 20k for that car. if you can get in there and verify everything, then you can make a more reasonable offer, but with a situation like this, you need to basically assume the worst. And the reality is the worst is a pretty likely outcome. Even if you can do all the work yourself, parts are getting VERY expensive for these cars.
If you are looking to turn this into a real driver, you're going to spend 50k minimum (just assuming it needs serious bodywork, tons of interior work and you need to assume at least a top end since you can't get info). For me, I wouldn't start anywhere higher than 20k for that car. if you can get in there and verify everything, then you can make a more reasonable offer, but with a situation like this, you need to basically assume the worst. And the reality is the worst is a pretty likely outcome. Even if you can do all the work yourself, parts are getting VERY expensive for these cars.
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03-31-2022, 01:37 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
I was lucky enough to dodge that bullet on my 997, but I do understand the adage. - LOL
This is kinda the logic and ballpark guess I'm looking for. This and the Singer thing, anyway. I guess I should talk to Singer to see if they have a level of interest. I'm not looking for a flip by any means, but it would be nice to have an escape hatch to get out with minimal or no financial damage if things get ugly after the potential purchase.
If you are looking to turn this into a real driver, you're going to spend 50k minimum (just assuming it needs serious bodywork, tons of interior work and you need to assume at least a top end since you can't get info). For me, I wouldn't start anywhere higher than 20k for that car. if you can get in there and verify everything, then you can make a more reasonable offer, but with a situation like this, you need to basically assume the worst. And the reality is the worst is a pretty likely outcome. Even if you can do all the work yourself, parts are getting VERY expensive for these cars.
03-31-2022, 01:52 PM
#13
Registration is allegedly current, so the title issue, while still significant, would not preclude the ability to register in many states.
Absolutely true that it might be a parts car. My offer should take that into account.
Ball is in my court, for better or worse. I suspect this will be a situation where I say a number the answer is either yes or no. I'm not really interested in dickering; just want to come up with a reasonable number that basically assumes worst case scenario. If get access to the car, more knowledge about the car, or even a pictures, I'll have to shift my number accordingly. But for now it's basically a shot in the dark.
I think walking away isn't the best option, as the car is definitely worth something. Just want to be fair to the (elderly) seller while avoiding getting handed a bag of reeking excrement.
Absolutely true that it might be a parts car. My offer should take that into account.
Ball is in my court, for better or worse. I suspect this will be a situation where I say a number the answer is either yes or no. I'm not really interested in dickering; just want to come up with a reasonable number that basically assumes worst case scenario. If get access to the car, more knowledge about the car, or even a pictures, I'll have to shift my number accordingly. But for now it's basically a shot in the dark.
I think walking away isn't the best option, as the car is definitely worth something. Just want to be fair to the (elderly) seller while avoiding getting handed a bag of reeking excrement.
03-31-2022, 02:26 PM
#14
Rennlist Member
Petty sure it's a 964 based on one side view shot that I think shows a ring around the headlight (tough angle) that would differentiate it from a 993.
You say you have pictures of the tail lights; that would be a better indicator if it was a 964 or not. The front and rear bumpers are also a dead giveaway. Can you post the pics?
Last edited by Sirenty; 03-31-2022 at 02:29 PM.
